AustinTraveler

We are going to Italy in Spring 2019 and will stay in Rome for 2 days, an agriturismo near Pienza for 4 days, Siena for 3 days, Florence for 3 days, and then we want to stay in Chianti for 3 days. I have done a lot of research and Castellina looks like a good location. We want to be between Florence and Siena for this portion of the trip. Do you think this would be a good base to see Chianti towns? I am thinking of staying in town to be close to restaurants in the evening. Any recommendations for accommodations? Any other towns you would consider?

HappyTrvlr

We have stayed in Castellina three times and enjoyed it. However, on our last trip to Chianti, we stayed in both Radda and Panzano. I would put Panzano at the top of our favorites now.

bvlenci

We drove through most of the Chianti towns on our recent road trip in Tuscany. We stopped only in Greve and Castellina, so I can't really do much of a comparison of the towns, although I must say that Castellina really was charming. All of these towns are close together, so any of the towns would be a good base to see the others.

Jean

Where do you go after these 3 days? Back to Rome to fly home or onward to another part of Italy?

Panzano would be a little too quiet for me. We liked both Radda and Castellina, but, as mentioned, all three towns are fairly close together. After spending 7 days in Pienza/Siena I'd probably pick an area other than Chianti. You could drive the Chiantigiana road on your way from Siena to Florence, or use one of your Siena days to explore Chianti.

If returning to Rome, have you considered spending those days in/near Orvieto and exploring a bit of Umbria and/or the Sorano/Pitigliano/Saturnia area? Also nearby are Bagnoregio and Lake Bolsena. Viterbo would be on the route to FCO.

AustinTraveler

Thank you everyone. Jean, I'm not sure yet what order these visits will happen, but I appreciate your suggestions of other areas. I'm really trying to not "see it all" on this trip so I thought sticking to Tuscany and flying in and out of Rome would be best. But, now I have more research to do.

Jean

AustinTraveler, I don't disagree with you.

For car logistics, I would put Florence either immediately after Rome (train to Florence, see Florence, rent the car when leaving) or after Chianti (drive to Florence, drop car, see Florence, train to Rome). You could also train from Rome to Florence immediately after you land (about 2.5 hours) and start your trip there, leaving your Rome days for the end. If you kept the car between Siena and Chianti, you'd have to figure out what you're going to do with it while you're in Florence.

Try not to calendar your days in Florence over Sunday/Monday when many of the main tourist sights might not be open. If you haven't learned about ZTLs, you can start at the link below. There are ZTLs in all of the towns you're likely to visit.

https://www.italybeyondtheobvious.co...with-ztl-zones

When you say you have x number of days in a place, does that mean you're not counting your transfer day? In other words, do you have 3 full days in Florence (4 nights) or do you have 2 days plus whatever remains of the day you traveled there?

AustinTraveler

Thank you Jean, wonderful information. We have as many days as we need. When I say 3 days, I mean 3 full nights so plenty of time for everything. I am aware of all the road regulations and will not have a car in the cities. Also, Florence right after Rome is exactly what I was thinking since we can take the train there and then rent a car. If we have a car when we are in Siena, I already have a hotel picked out that has on-site parking just in case. I do know about the Sunday/Monday thing. I'm just trying to get all the accommodations reserved now and then I don't have to think about all the other stuff until closer to the travel dates. Thank you so much...you're a wealth of information. And for those that don't know, if you want another source of information, StuDudley on here is amazing. He emailed me suggestions and I am in awe!

mjs

Wee just returned from Tuscany last week. Also stayed in Pienza which we liked a lot although 4 nights is a lot of time unless you just want to kick back and relax. You do not really need to stay in Chianti as the area is easy to reach from Siena.